The unexpectedly high turnout and relatively smooth balloting that characterized the two days of voting illustrated what surveys had shown for months: The majority of Egyptians prefer speedy elections to disruptive protests in the military-run transition period.

The winners of the first round of voting won’t be known until today at the earliest. But the losers were obvious: the Tahrir diehards, who stewed under their tents and tarps as hundreds of thousands of voters turned out yesterday for the second day of voting in the staggered parliamentary elections. The protesters’ numbers had dwindled, with stalwart activists replaced by street peddlers and bored young bullies. Female revolutionaries complained that they no longer felt safe at the camp.

The tension exploded after dark in new clashes that left 59 people wounded, according to the Health Ministry. Officials said nine were injured in a battle that erupted when protesters tried to force out street vendors who had overtaken the square.

The peddlers returned with backup, including thugs with Molotov cocktails, stones and shotguns. The clashes raged for hours before dissipating, according to live TV reports from the square.

In a sign that protesters still had supporters in high places, presidential candidate and Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei tweeted his disdain for the violence in the square: “Thugs attack protesters in Tahrir. Regime that can’t protect its citizens is regime that failed its people.”

The public’s tacit endorsement of the ruling generals forced the dejected protesters to admit that their revolution has faltered.

“People don’t understand that we are protesting for the whole country, for those who were killed by both army and police forces last week,” lamented Shimaa Salah, 27. “How can I vote in elections run by those who killed us less than 10 days ago?”

Salah prepared to spend her 10th night in the square yesterday, along with hundreds of other hardcore protesters who reject the elections organized by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military council that has ruled Egypt since a popular uprising forced President Hosni Mubarak out last winter.

The protesters in Tahrir Square called the election a sham and the people who participated dupes. A few of them said they had voted, if only to spoil their ballots in protest or to help liberal politicians against Islamist opponents. But not one thought a new parliament would wield any real authority while answering to the council.

The elections, they said, were useful only in giving legitimacy to an institution whose mission appears to be preserving the old order and keeping Islamists at bay.